Sears
Holdings
National retail chain
made up of Sears Roebuck and Kmart.
Headquarters:
3333 Beverly Road
Hoffman Estates, IL 60179
Employees: 352,000
Interim CEO: Bruce Johnson
Stock Symbol: SHLD
Website:
http://www.searsholdings.com
Career
Site
Sears Holdings is the nation's third-largest retailer formed in 2005 with the merger of Sears Roebuck & Co. and Kmart. The combined companies operate 3,918 stores nationwide.
Sears Holdings is the leading home appliance
retailer in North America and is a retail sales leader in tools,
lawn and garden, home electronics, and automotive repair and
maintenance. Key brands include Kenmore, Craftsman and
DieHard, and a broad apparel offering, including such well-known
labels as Lands' End, Jaclyn Smith and Joe Boxer, as well as
the Apostrophe and Covington brands. The company also offers
Martha Stewart Everyday products, which are available exclusively
in the U.S. at Kmart and in Canada at Sears Canada.
Sears has 1,051 full-line stores and 1,499 specialty stores. Kmart has 1,368 discount stores, averaging 92,000 square feet and SuperCenters averaging 165,000 square feet. The average Kmart store carries between 60,000 and 80,000 products while the superstores have 100,000-150,000 products.
The company said it would close 24 underperforming stores this year.
Sears is the largest provider of product
repair services with more than 13 million service calls made
annually.
Eddie Lampert is the Chairman of Sears
Holdings and is well-known as a hedge fund manager and investor.
In fiscal 2008, Sears Holdings reported revenues of $46.8 billion, down from $50.7 billion, and net income of $53 million.
History
In 1886, Richard Sears began the R.W. Sears
Watch Company in Minneapolis. In 1887, Sears settles in the company's
first Chicago location and hires a watchmaker named Alvah C.
Roebuck. The company formed a catalog in 1888 featuring watches
and jewelry.
In 1893, the company's name becomes Sears,
Roebuck and Co. The company would launch its first general catalog
in 1896 which would allow millions of Americans to shop from
home and receive goods via mail.
The first Sears Roebuck retail store opened
in 1925 in a catalog center on Chicago's west side. Sears would
launch the Kenmore appliance and Craftsman hardware brands in
1927.
In 1973, Sears would move its headquarters
to Sears Tower in Chicago, which was then the world's tallest
building.
In 1899, Sebastian S. Krege founded the
S. S. Kredge stores. The company would expand and by 1962, opened
its first Kmart discount store in the Detroit area. The S.S.
Kredge company changed its name to Kmart Corp. in 1977.
In 2002, Kmart filed for bankruptcy and
closed 600 stores. It emerged from Chapter 11 a year later under
the leadership of Edward Lampert, a hedge fund manager. Lampert
led the merger with Sears in 2004 and is now the company's chairman.
Benefits
The following are offered to employees
of both Kmart and Sears but may vary depending on position
- Medical coverage
- Dental plan
- Legal plan
- 401(k) savings plan
- Flexible Spending Account
- Associate discount
- Tuition reimbursement
- Short-term and Long-term Disability Insurance
- Vacation and holidays
The Sears headquarters campus in Hoffman
Park, IL offers the following:
· Fitness Center
· Recreation Leagues
· Childcare Center
· Associate Referral Program
· Hair Salon
· Auto Center
· Pharmacy
· Dry Cleaners
· Bank
· Optical Center
· Health Center
· Sample Store
· Cafeteria
· Deli
· Sears Center Box Office
· Business Casual Dress Code
Updated May 9, 2009
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